Henry Sutton IV
Henry Soren Sutton IV is the 8th Duke of Newcastle, and a Field Marshal in the Stormwind Army. He is a trusted member of the Royal Council, a Knight of the Brotherhood of the Horse, an avid hunter, outdoorsman, and a breeder of fine horses. After the death of his first wife and mother of all his children, Katherine Maclear, the Duke married Melysa Marwyn-Ashvale, the former Duchess of Seastone in February of 624 K.C. He is considered to be among the five wealthiest Dukes in the Stormwind Peerage, and is the patron of more than a dozen charities throughout the Kingdom of Stormwind. Henry inherited the Dukedom from his grandfather at the age of just 20, and has held it for over 44 years. Titles Appearance At six and a half feet tall, Henry towers over lesser men, and in his prime, the Duke of Newcastle was a formidable force on the field of battle. A military man, his hair is closely-cropped, and his beard is always neatly-trimmed. Now in his sixties, the Duke retains a full head of hair, although it has gone from brown to white as the Northrend snows. His fierce eyes and stern features hint at a life spent on one battlefield or another. Seldom seen in anything but the finest armor and clothing, he wears a large ring of gold, a Wrynn Lion engraved in its center, encircled by the Sutton motto "Be Without Fear" Current Developments Taking Another Wife The Duke has been attempting to negotiate a political marriage with the house of Marwyn in the Arathi Highlands, and despite failing to persuade Merridyth Marwyn to marry his eldest son, Henry has used the recent developments in the Arathi Highlands to his advantage. Knowing that Seastone's Duchess is in need of both money and soldiers to defend her lands against the horde, the Duke has most graciously suggested a marriage between the two of them. The Duke first met Melysa Marwyn during one of her many visits to King Varian's Court as Stromgarde's Ambassador, and quickly learned that she was as clever as even his fiercest political rivals. Her family's storied history and list of titles near as long as that of the Suttons has indeed made her one of his many choices for a political marriage. With Newcastle's line of succession in no danger, and only the honour of both houses to consider, Henry feels that an alliance with one of Stromgarde's most formidable politicians can only be to his advantage. On the evening of February 19th, 624 K.C. Henry invited Melysa to dinner at Newcastle House in Stormwind, and after three hours of negotiation, the Duchess accepted his marriage proposal. They are to be married at the Duke's private Chapel in Castle Rock within the month. In addition to a sum of more than 200,000 gold, which he initially refused out of courtesy for her circumstances, the Duke will have unconditional access to one of the few remaining Arathi ports, and all of Melysa's political connections. Most importantly, the marriage will join two of the eldest aristocratic families in the human Kingdoms. After seeing how upset she was by the threat of forsaken blight, and the horde invasion of the Arathi Highlands, Henry vowed to garrison all three Marwyn Castles with his own soldiers, and send two warships to Port Marwyn in the interest of deterring the horde from attacking Marwyn lands. The Duke was rumored to have said the following of the 39 year-old Duchess to his eldest son: "Is she not aged like a fine wine? I do believe I shall die a very happy man if I can make her love me." Category:Characters Category:Warriors Category:Stormwind Peerage Category:House of Sutton Category:Brotherhood of the Horse Category:Stormwind Army Category:Stormwind House of Nobles